Dynamic Language Blog

Your brand and retail product is taking the country by storm. Now you want to expand your company into a foreign market. Congratulations! Now, how do you do that? How to take your product to new global markets and maintain a prominent brand presence on a global scale without losing sight of your customers as individuals with their own specific needs? How do you communicate with your customers across different countries and languages? Here are a few top tips for how to sell your product globally.

Localized Presence

The further away you are from a situation, the less likely it is that you will be in touch with what’s going on. The same is true for taking a retail product global. To maintain a successful presence in a country where you would like to offer your product, it’s important to have people specifically designated to deal with your products in that country and keep your customers happy. They don’t necessarily have to be located in that country, but they should be intimately familiar with the culture, language, and customs in order to communicate effectively with your customers there.

You should also have a version of your website that’s specifically designed for each country. Apart from basic translation, you will need to make sure prices are listed in the proper currency and adjusted for current exchange rates. In addition, you need to be aware of what payment methods are common in each country so that you can accommodate your customers, rather than turning them off by forcing them to use a method they wouldn’t ordinarily use.

And, of course, your packaging, labeling, and advertisements all need to be in compliance with local standards, measures, and other regulations. Otherwise, not only will your packaging be difficult to understand, it will also cost you a lot of extra money in fines and fees. In every aspect of your company, from your products to your website to catalogs, coupons, and product descriptions, you need to make sure you’re in touch with local language and culture and can communicate your message effectively.

Quality Translations

So, how do you communicate your message effectively? It starts with making sure your product packaging, labels, and materials are well-translated. As we’ve seen, localization is the key to providing quality service on a global scale. Translations need to fit not only with the language of each country, but the culture. It’s important to have a glossary and style guide for all translated content that can help you find the right terms, the proper regulations, and the right cultural references, for each country and language.

Of course, keeping track of all of those languages and cultures for multiple products with a myriad of regulations is near impossible. Your best course of action may be to coordinate with a translation service provider, specifically one with proven retail industry expertise, which can provide the cultural perspective, tools and services you will need.

A retail translation service provider will make sure all of your company’s materials are translated – from product packaging, to website content, to catalogs, coupons, e-mails, and more – and also that your products and packaging are in full compliance with all regulations for each country. They’ll also make sure that your brand itself translates into each language, making it instantly recognizable on a global scale.

Taking your retail product global is a tremendous feat that requires a fair amount of effort. Anyone can sell a product in another country, but to make sure both your product and company are well-received in that country takes effort. You need to be able to communicate your message effectively in any language you’re selling in, and ensure that your customers can communicate with you, as well. In short, the key to successful globalization is localization. If you can master that, you have opened the door to sell in nearly any country and language you desire.